


Gotham Knights

by HadesDragon



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Homestuck, Nightwing (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: 'Eh' approach to canon, Eventual vampire!dick, Genderfluid Character, It's pretty good for a self insert, Knight of doom - Freeform, More pairings inside, Other, Self-Insert, That's why I'm sharing it, batfam, but like, good self-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-20 02:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8233081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HadesDragon/pseuds/HadesDragon
Summary: A hole opens up in reality and a godly teen falls through. Superman is the first on the scene to greet the strange teenager, who promptly tells him to leave them alone and flees to Gotham. Gotham, the one city in the world where Superman isn't welcome, both by the city itself and it's dark knight.Atreyu Hades, knight of doom, has been sent to another universe by their friends and must now live in hiding from this world's heroes while looking for a way back. They assume the identity of Artemis Hades, a girl who ran away to Gotham and captured the attention of one Dick Grayson.Atreyu must juggle a secret identity, their feelings for their friends and for Dick, and the craziness of the DC universe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Side pairings: Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Pamala Isley/Harlee Quinzel, there will probably be more to add later.

Somewhere in the Arctic a hole in reality opened up. From this tear fell a figure caped in green, followed by an alien spear. The teen landed heavily, displacing a wave of snow and ice. They stared in a daze for a moment before a look of anger overtook their features. They were beginning to get up with desperate indignation when the spear struck them. The sleek weapon buried itself in their chest, in their heart, pinning the teen to the frozen landscape. In the distance, a crystal fortress loomed, and the hole sealed itself. From the spear fluttered a note tethered by string.

In metropolis, Clark Kent stood on his balcony on a warm summer night. He listened to his city with hearing greater than any human. He felt its beat like the pulse of a giant heart. He turned his senses beyond his bright hopeful city to the entire world. The beautiful, complex, and precious planet he protected and all of its people. He smiled as today had been peaceful, no crisis, no disasters, not even a robbery. It had been nice.

Then he heard something strange. Something strange near his fortress of solitude. It seemed peace could not last. Using his super speed, he changed from his civilian clothes to dawn the mantle of superman. He leapt from the balcony into the night and rushed to the top of the planet.

His eyes scanned the desolate white land. The midnight sun made the ground nearly blinding, luckily his eyes could handle it. He stopped when he saw someone lying in the snow not a mile from the fortress. As he floated cautiously to the figure, Kal El used his x-ray vision to check his sanctuary for intruders. Finding none, he breathed a sigh of relief and hovered to a stop next to the figure.

It looked like a teenaged boy. A strange green outfit including a cape and menacing symbol on his shirt caught his eye. He had soft looking dark brown hair and long eyelashes. The kid was very… pretty. If it weren’t for the spear through his chest and the frozen blood that leaked from his slightly parted mouth, he might look much like a sleeping angel.

Superman looked at the gruesome sight sadly. He bent down to pick up the kid and remove the spear when something fluttered and caught his eye. A note with green, violet, and black script was a butterfly in the Arctic wind. He held it gently and brought it close to read.

[“ **.dneirf ruo retfa kool esaelP** My guardian is very important to me, please treat them kindly! – Jonai p.s. instructions on the flip side!”]

He turned the note over perplexed.

[“ _~Remove spear stand back and please protect this dork~_ ”]

Kal El was even more confused. How could he protect this poor boy when he was already dead? But the note had mentioned removing the spear, so had whoever planed for him to be found dead? It was times like this he wished batman and his detective skills were at his disposal, to bad the man didn’t trust him.

He looked at the spear, it’s handle a dark metal with a spiral grip from the base winding into the teens chest. Kal griped it and tugged upwards. Might as well follow the instructions. He jumped back a ways once it was freed. The end was a simple teardrop shape with a hollow middle.

For a tense moment nothing happened and Kal’s shoulders slump in grief and disappointment. With a grim look he started forward to collect the body, but he had to stop as multicolored lights began to emanate from the corpse. In the blood he could see a rainbow of galaxies flash past. The body began to lift into the air, the wound melting off in a colorful slurry that rolled off the form and dripped into the sky. Kal stared in awe at the ethereal sight before him.

When the light show subsided, standing before him was a very alive and healthy teen in green. Superman thought his eyes were a striking vibrant blue as the other looked around. That blue turned icy as the kid set eyes on him. The one in green shifted to a defensive stance and glared at Superman.

“Where am I and who are you?” the teen snapped. Kal could see the way he trembled, but couldn’t tell if it was from the cold, from fear, or from something else.

“You’re on earth, specifically near the planet’s north pole. I’m Kal of the house of El on Krypton. I’m the protector of this planet. The locals call me superman.” He said. The kid looked confused and had seemed to space out a little after Kal had started talking. He heard the teen whisper ‘earth?’ with reverence and sorrow, like he couldn’t believe it. “What’s your name?” He asked gently. The kid snapped his attention back to the hero.

“A… Atreyu Hades, Knight of doom.” He said a little reluctantly. Atreyu seemed to regret it as soon as the words left his mouth. But soon he steeled himself once more. “Give me that spear.” He commanded. Superman held it out and the kid surprised him by flying over and snatching the weapon. Kal took a step back as the teen returned to his previous spot. Atreyu looked at the weapon in frustration and tore the note from it. The spear then vanished from his hand. The note followed with a mutter of ‘communication’.

Atreyu turned to look at Kal over his shoulder. “Leave me alone.” He said before flying off at a speed that rivaled Superman’s own.

“Wait!” Kal called and flew after the teen.

Atreyu first flew far above the earth, they had to see if it really was earth. They came to rest on the moon and looked out at the Blue planet. It was earth, but it was different from the planet they had lost. The moon faced America, but the shape of the continent was off, too wide and things were the wrong shape. It was like someone redrew the planet with a loose reference.

They saw Superman approaching and, with a sad sigh, sent a wave of dread to stall him. Just a brief sense of impending doom so they could fly past him. The rules of this universe told them Kal El was going to do everything in his power to do as the note said. The man now felt responsible for them. However, there seemed to be a city the man would be reluctant to enter. Atreyu flew until they came to a dark city in the south of New York.

They flew past a sign that read ‘Welcome to Gotham!’. They found an empty alley and flew down into it. They removed their God tier outfit and replaced it with a white skirt, ruffled blue top, and some blue sandals. Kal would likely be looking for a boy, so a girl would be a good disguise. Atreyu was glad they had outfits for both in their sylladex. They were about to leave they alley when they stopped. With a flick of their wrist a white cloth headband appeared on her head and she left the alley to find a mirror to do some make up in.

Bruce Wayne sat in front of the batcomputer wearing the mantle of the dark night. He had been waiting for Dick to get ready for their patrol that night when his computer had picked up something strange. It was far north, so Superman would have to take care of it, he would question the man of steel later.

He found himself looking forward to this patrol. It would be his first with Dick since the other got back from Bludhaven. He could tell something was troubling the younger man, but he wouldn’t force him to open up. He’d missed his first protégé. Tim and Barbara were great help of course, but Dick held a special place. He was his first partner, and he and Bruce had felt the most similar pain.

He stood as Nightwing entered and both men nodded at each other. Batman pulled his cowl up and the two mounted their cycles. The two drove off into the night.

Their patrol routes were separate to cover more of the city, but they were still connected via their comm systems. Batman was halfway through his when he saw a figure of red and blue in the sky. He changed his course and made his way to the top of the nearest building. Superman was there at the top waiting for him, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“What are you doing here?” Batman asked harshly.

“I need your help.” Kal said.

“Does this have anything to do with the phenomena at the North Pole?” He asked. Superman nodded.

“There… There was a young man, dead in the snow, and a note on the weapon asking to protect and look after him. He came back to life after I removed it and then he flew off. To Gotham.” The alien explained.

“You want me to look for him.” He said. It was a statement, not a question. “Tell me what to keep an eye out for. Then leave. I look into it.” Superman gave a curt nod of acceptance.

“He’s a bit over five feet tall. Blue eyes, dark brown hair, pale, and wearing a strange outfit…” Batman gave him a look. “They weren’t street clothes okay? All different shades of green, a skull like motif on his shirt, and a cape and hood. He introduced himself as Atreyu Hades, Knight of Doom.”

“I’ll keep an eye out, now get out of my city.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” And he was gone, and batman continued his patrol.

Meanwhile, Atreyu wandered about the city looking for a place to spend the night. She now had modest makeup, but no money. No money meant no food or shelter. Dying of starvation might be inconvenient, but shelter didn’t seem like a priority on these warm summer nights.

Atreyu thought to herself about getting a job, how to best stay hidden, and how to get back into the medium. She was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings and was pulled into an alleyway. A leather clad hand had grabbed her wrist and had it not been for her ability to fly and hover, would have easily toppled her and her platform shoes. The thug spun her around putting himself between her and mouth of the alley. A knife was in his hand gleaming menacingly.

“Scream and I’ll cut you.” He said darkly. Atreyu gave him a glare of angry annoyance, but made no sound. She also subtly reintroduced her feet to gravity. “Good, now hand over your valuables and I’ll be on my way.” The man wore dark clothes and a long coat, his face was probably round under the beard he wore, and his features were sickly pale in the grim dramatic lighting of the alley.

“I don’t have anything valuable on me.” Atreyu growled, though her voice was a higher pitch than usual. This had been a lie, but not one the mugger could call as everything she owned was in her sylladex.

The mugger looked annoyed, but soon a more terrifying expression twisted his features. A smug look of hunger.

“Well then, I suppose I’ll just take something else then.” He said amused. He grabbed her wrist once more, but before he could do anything else Atreyu changed her stance and stepped around him. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand and slid the knife from his grip. Using both her hands to grip his arm, she turned her torso sharply swinging his arm like a sword. The mugger fell, knife flying out of his hand, and she pinned him.

“You picked the wrong person to mess with fuck face.” She sneered. Her heart was racing, it had been so long since she had fought an enemy without the intent to kill. It was more effort, but a human life was more than worth it.

The man whistled harshly.

“Boys, she’s giving me trouble.” He said loudly. From the mouth of the alley came two men, and to more reveled themselves from behind. They drew closer and she backed away until her back found a brick wall in its path. She couldn’t stop them all herself without using violence, but she couldn’t do nothing. She looked to the rules that governed this world and then to the conditions for these men’s dooms. She saw a doom she caused, bloody and depressing, the conditions easily met. She saw her own doom, equally terrible, it would be her fate if she did not act. Next she saw a smaller doom, where the men lived but we’re thwarted, and she need only do two things.

She pushed herself to the wall, steeled her nerves, and let out a scream. The most girlish call of distress she could muster. With it she sent a wave of impending doom at the five men, the feeling clearly made them hesitant at their own actions.

“I… I told you not to scream you bi-“ the man was hit in the forehead by a black and blue baton. One by one the men looked to the direction the weapon came from. One by one their expressions turned fearful and unsure. A couple of the men took a step back. Atreyu looked up.

Above them was a masked man in skintight black and blue. The man gracefully leapt from the edge of the roof and landed between Atreyu and the men. From here she saw a smirk on his face.

“Don’t you know it’s not nice to pick on girls.” He said amused. The leader was the first one to shake his feelings of fear.

“What are you lot doing? Don’t just stand there, get him!” He barked. They all put on brave faces before the leader and one more lunged at him. The man easily redirected their attacks back at themselves. More men joined and the fight turned into a flurry of punches and kicks. The blue and black man seemed to dance through the men as he took them down. Soon the fight was over and he was the only one left standing. After handcuffing the thugs, he turned his masked gaze on her.

“I, uh… Thank you…” She felt a bit awkward, having been saved by a man in a skintight suit. He seemed handsome too, a lean and subtly muscular body, like that of a model. His face was soft and only slightly less feminine than hers had been hours earlier. It was as pretty as the black hair that framed it. “I, my phone, I don’t think its working. So I can’t call the police from it. I’m not sure I can use a pay phone without money either…” She trailed off pathetically.

“You can, emergency numbers are free, but the nearest pay phone is a block away. Don’t worry, I’ve got a handle on this. Are you okay miss…?” He asked leaning on the wall coolly.

“I’m fine now, thank you. If you’ve got this I should be going.” She avoided his question of her identity. Firstly, Atreyu wasn’t really a girl’s name and secondly, it would be easier for Kal to find her if she used her real name. She would need to think of one before morning. She nodded to him and walked out of the alley.

Nightwing sent the location of the thieves to the police, as well as the info on their offence. He also sent a message to batman telling him that he might be late to the rendezvous. He wanted to check up on that girl, she was… strange. So he took to the roofs and followed her.

Atreyu wandered more alert this time, but still on the lookout for a place to sleep. Bus stops were no good, neither were roadside benches, or alleys… She spotted a park. Parks were good, she had lived near many parks before the earth was destroyed, and she saw how the homeless slept in them. She wandered over into the park.

Tress were good for hiding, but not so much for sleeping, so she found some bushes away from the road and sidewalk. She sat down in the middle of them and they rose above her head. They made a neat circle around a patch a grass just big enough for her to lie in. The grass was thick and soft.

“Tech.” She whispered softly. Nothing happened. She softly cursed and remembered she changed the name of that group of objects. “Stupid set sylladex… Communication.” She muttered and four objects appeared. Splayed around her was a phone, a tablet, a laptop, and the note from the spear. She gathered them up, stopping to look sadly at the note. She set the phone aside and sent the rest back into the sylladex.

Picking the phone back up, she opened the messenger.

Nightwing saw the girl enter the park looking critically around, like she was looking for something. He could keep an eye on her from the top of the building he sat. She spotted a bush and smiled. He wondered why until she walked into them and sat down out of sight. He waited a moment, but she didn’t re-emerge. Sighing to himself, he jumped down and made his way over.

Atreyu had sent several messaged to her friends, all of them were read, but only Jonai had responded with a simple ‘sorry guard. :( We love you!’. She let out a frustrated noise and lay down. Her phone could still send messages to them, but no idea if it would work like a phone in this world. It hurt her that her friends had sent her away, that they refused to talk to her, that she couldn’t protect them, that they were all going to die in her place. She punched the ground in anger. She stayed like that until she heard footsteps.

She crouched, ready to fight or run away any second. It was only one set of steps, she could take them if she needed to. But a black gloved hand parted the brush giving way to the masked face of the stranger that had saved her.

“What do we have here?” He teased.

“Are you stalking me?” She asked flatly.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Why are you crouched in these bushes like some kind of hermit?” He asked kindly.

“I’m fine, and I was going to sleep here.” She answered a little sharper than she meant to.

“What, why?” He asked surprised.

“I’m a runaway with no money is why. And before you report me or something, I’m 18 so it’s not like I need a legal guardian. So it’s more like I’m a homeless person with an annoying man after her.” She said sarcastically. “That’s why I didn’t tell you my name when you asked.” Nighwing looked at her incredulously. She shifted from her crouch to sitting with her legs underneath her. He looked away thought, hand by his mouth. Atreyu watched him until he looked up, having apparently decided something.

“Wait here.” He ordered, got up, and jogged away. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

While on the move, he opened a channel with batman. “B, what’s the price of couple night’s stay at a decent hotel in Gotham?”

“Why do you ask?” Came the gruff reply.

“There’s this girl, I can hear your eye roll from here but just listen. She lost her money and needs a place.” He explained.

“Alright.” His voice was a little more relaxed. “A couple hundred should set her up fine, use the spare account.”

“Thanks B.” He said closing the channel. He found an ATM and retrieved the money in tens and a few fives. He put it away in a container from his belt and hurried back to her.

He was glad to find she hadn’t moved, though she still glared warily at him. He briefly wondered why, usually civilians had looks of relief, trust, or sometimes swooned, but not this girl. The look reminded him of his days when the police didn’t trust vigilantes much.

“What’d you run off to do?” She asked. He pulled the container from his belt and opened it to show her the money inside. Her face lit up in awe but then she looked up at him in confusion.

“It’s two hundred dollars, to find you a place to stay.” He explained holding the container out for her to take. She blushed and held her hands up in front of her.

“I can’t take this!” She said flustered. He frowned.

“Why not?”

“It-It’s so much money! And you’ve already helped me out of a bad situation.” She said.

“Then consider this a selfish act, it would ease my mind knowing you were safely off the streets.” He smiled like a cat. She had a weakness for cats. She nodded and took the container. “Now, let me escort you to a hotel.” He stood up, and with a smile worthy of a fairytale prince, held his hand out for her to take.

She had a room for three nights at Elysium hotel, this included breakfast and pool privileges. It was an alright place, probably 2.5 to 3 stars. She now had a place to stay and at least one meal a day. But she didn’t know how long she would stay in Gotham, she hoped one day she could enter the medium once more and win the game for her friends.

She sat on the plush bed and thought. She didn’t really have a way back, it took the combined powers of void, space, and possibly time just to send her here. She didn’t have anything like that. And the rules of the universe told her it was impossible to go to that place. But should couldn’t accept that, she needed to get back or she might break.

She turned off the light and slept. She didn’t dream.

Bruce and Dick returned to the batcave. Dick had a smile on his face, but said nothing as he and Bruce put away their gear. He didn’t say anything as they waited in the elevator back to the manor. He also didn’t say anything as he was about go up the stairs to his room. Bruce thought then that he didn’t plan on saying anything at all, so he called to the younger man.

“Dick, what has you grinning like an idiot and preoccupies your thoughts so much you forget to tell me what happened on your patrol?” Bruce asked amused. Dick stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to face his adoptive father. He was still smiling as he leaned on the banister.

“The patrol was pretty quiet, only one mugging. Five men against one lady. I took care of it easily.”

“Was this the same girl that lost her money?” He asked a little suspicious. If Dick had stopped the muggers why had the girl needed money?

“Well, yes. She didn’t so much as lose her money as not have any. She was kind of strange, so I followed her after. She was going to sleep in the bushes at the park Bruce! So I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was homeless and hiding in Gotham from someone. After calling you I set her up at the Elysium hotel in the better part of the city for three nights. She was kind of cute.” He smiled some more. Bruce looked pensive. “I’m thinking of finding her tomorrow and introducing her to Dick. Maybe I’ll get her to tell me her name this time.” He mused looking up at the ceiling.

“Just be careful. You don’t know anything really about this girl.” He said sternly.

“I will be, I always am. So how was your patrol?”

“Superman payed me a visit.”

“What? No way. What did he want?” Dick said surprised. He sat on the stairs to listen.

“A little before we left, there was a temporal anomaly in the north pole. Superman found a young man in a strange outfit with a weapon through his chest.” Dick’s face turned serious. “With the weapon was a note asking him to look after the boy, who came back to life after the weapon was removed. The boy flew to Gotham and Superman has asked us to help look for him.” Bruce explained. “He’s around five feet tall, blue eyes, white probably Caucasian, dark brown hair, and obviously has the ability to fly. His outfit is various shades of green, he wears a cape and a hood, and his shirt sports some kind of skull logo according to Superman.”

“I’ll keep an eye out. But why Gotham? Wouldn’t a forest or a jungle be better for hiding in? Especially for a man in green, he’d stick out like a sore thumb in a city, but be pretty camouflaged in foliage.” Dick voiced.

“He’s probably wearing civilian clothes then. I’ll keep a look out tomorrow for any reports of stolen clothes as well as sightings of new heroes. But you’re right, why Gotham, there are plenty of cities closer to the North Pole, bigger and easier to hide in. He could have some ulterior motive.” Dick nodded and stood up to go to bed. “One more thing, the suspect introduced himself as Atreyu Hades, Knight of Doom.” The words were ominous and made Dick stop as a shiver was sent up his spine.

“That doesn’t sound very friendly…” He remarked. He continued up the stairs and on to bed.


	2. Museums in Gotham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atreyu meets Dick and they go on a kind-of date. Too bad Gotham has villains.

The next morning, Dick walked around Gotham with a cup of coffee in his hand. He had bought it hours ago and hadn’t taken a single sip. He pulled out his phone with his free hand and looked down at it through his sunglasses. A blue dot moved along a map. Not looking up, he walked forward, easily dodging those around him as he went.

Atreyu raised her arms above her head and took a stretch as she walked. She had thought a trip to the museum would be a good idea to get to know a bit of Gotham, but the museum she visited only had jewels and expensive looking artifacts. None of it seemed to even be from Gotham or a part of the city’s history! Though it was still interesting to read about.

She was on her way to another museum when she ran into someone. Just her luck this person had been carrying coffee. The man had staggered and nearly fell, but she got a chest full of cold coffee and a butt to concrete greeting. She was pretty sure her head had hit his nose.

“Oh my gods I’m so sorry I should have payed more-“ She started to apologize.

“Are you all right miss?” The man said, offering her a hand. She took it and got up wincing as the drink dripped from her skirt. Her white skirt. Of course this would happen to the outfit that didn’t magically clean itself.

“I…I’m fine… I just… My skirt.” She gave a pout. But then noticed something about the man she found strange.

Dick noticed the girl was still wearing the outfit from last night. Of course she would be, she was homeless with no pockets much less a bag for a change of clothes. He almost wanted to break his façade and smile at the adorable pout she had. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard her mumble something.

“Is that common…?” She muttered looking almost above him. He looked behind him and saw nothing unusual.

“Is what common?” He asked turning back to her. Her eyes went wide before she smiled bashfully.

“Your, uh, haircut. I’ve seen it before. Is it a popular style in this city?” She nervously laughed. Dick swore internally, she was dangerously perceptive.

“I would think so, it’s the same haircut as a famous rich kid who lives in Gotham.” He laughed. “Let me buy you some new clothes to make up for the coffee, I shouldn’t look at my phone while I walk.” He offered.

“I… I don’t know… It’s really kind of you to offer, but-“

“I insist. Come on, there’s a store not too far from here. We'll buy you something new to wear and take what you have on to the cleaners.” He held his hand out for her. She looked apprehensive, but took his hand. She still snuck glances at him, inquisitive looks.

Atreyu saw this man had the same doom as the one in the mask. She chalked it up to a coincidence, or a common kind of doom in this universe. Dick removed the tracker he had placed on her last night. She trailed along almost like a lost puppy.

“I’m Dick by the way, Dick Grayson.” He said as they waited for a light to change. “What’s your name?” He asked. He was going to get her name this time, no weaseling out of it. She seemed to think for a moment, distress crossing her face.

“Artemis… Artemis Hades.” She practically spat the words. A fearful look of regret passes over her features. Dick guessed it was because she had given her real name even though she was hiding from someone. Atreyu felt conflicted because that name was supposed to be special, not something to be given so lightly. She couldn’t give her real name, it would spell her doom, but this didn’t feel right either. Too late now.

“Named after two greek gods? No wonder you’re so pretty.” He flirted. Laughing good naturedly at her blush. She bristled.

“You know, as beautiful as Artemis is, she hated men. None had the slightest chance at her.” Artemis said an angry blush coloring her cheeks.

“Ah if you’re anything like your namesake I’m just out of luck, but at least so is every other guy.”  He smiled at her and loosened his grip. He didn’t want to be too pushy and creepy and scare her off. He spotted the store and led her over.

“WOAH! Wait! No, no we can’t go in there!” She protested slipping out of his grip. He turned to see her holding her hands out in front of her as if to keep some distance. She crossed her arms over her chest in a giant ‘X’ and shook her head.

“Why not?” He asked.

“It’s way too expensive!” She said indignantly. The store was one of Gotham’s higher end.

“It’s fine, I’m paying remember.” He said. She shook her head.

“No, I refuse.” She stated.

“Oh, come on. I feel bad for spilling all over you, please let me buy you some new clothes.” He begged. “It’s really okay, I’m rich I can afford it.”

“Financial status aside, I can’t accept expensive clothes from a guy I just met. It you really need to buy me clothes, take me to a thrift store.” She said playing with her hem.

“Oh alright… If you insist Miss Hades, I’ll accept your terms.” He smiled and pulled out his phone to look up the location of the nearest secondhand shop.

Artemis picked out some simple black flats, a summer dress with black floral print, and a black button up cardigan. It looked a little more formal than before, but she didn’t mind. She had also pick out a few more outfits, so she would have some variety.

“Why so many skirts? I don’t think you picked a single pair of pants…” He said handing her the shopping bag.

“Well, because I’m a girl. A girl with a really flat chest. People might mistake me for a boy if I didn’t wear girlish things, and pink is out of the question.” She explained almost robotically, getting snappish at the end.

“Alright, I guess that kinda makes sense, I suppose… Well, since I bought you extra clothes and plan on paying for your dry cleaning, would it be fair if I asked for your number?” He asked with a goofy grin.

“My phone has been kinda… Weird lately. I’m not sure it even works right. I suppose we could… Here give me your phone.” She said holding out her hand. He handed it over and she added herself as a contact. “Try texting me, I’m not sure if it’ll work, but it’s more likely than if I tried.” He nodded and sent her a text. When he looked up a phone was in her hand. He wondered where she kept it, she was thankful she had left her laptop and tablet back in her room. She clutched the note from the spear in her hand until the phone buzzed, then sighed in relief.

“Looks like it worked.” He smiled. She smiled back and looked to the text. ‘want to grab some food with me? –dick’ She let out a sarcastic laugh and typed a response, her fingers flying across the screen. ‘Are you asking me out on a date? Cause if you want I was on my way to a museum before bumping into you if you wanna drop all this off and come with.’ Dick gave a genuine grin and looked up at her. “Sure, sounds like fun. We can go for lunch after.”

“You go drop off my clothes for cleaning and I’ll meet you at the Gotham museum of art.” She handed him the bag of sullied garments, twirled on her heel, and walked away. He watched her go a little longer than was necessary.

She took the new clothes home and found Dick at the entrance to the museum. He looked more like a part of the museum than a patron. Tailored clothes and Adonis like physique giving him a distinguished statuesque silhouette. He was looking at his phone, free hand in his pocket. She had him in her sights for only a few seconds before he looked up from his phone to smile at her. She gave small business-like smile and hurried over to him.

The museum was impressive. Every piece looked expensive. If it wasn’t a painting, it had some expensive looking jewels on it or was an expensive looking jewel carved intricately. The monochrome floors and walls made the bright and colorful works stand out even more.

“Wow, the only normal part of this place is the modern art exhibit.” Artemis joked pointing to a plastic sculpture of a warped, melting looking figure.

“What kind of art museums are you used to that lead you to even describe modern art as normal?” Dick laughed.

“Well, it’s just most of the things in here look like they came out of a jewelry store. I’ve never seen so many things in a museum that glittered until I came to Gotham.” She picked up a pamphlet from next to a display and flipped through it idly.

“This is par the course for every museum I’ve been to.” He said leaning into her peripheral vision.

“I’m sure it is, rich boy.” She sniped, eyes not leaving the text she was reading. Dick scoffed.

“And just wha-“ Dick’s scandalized retort was cut off by a scream. They both took off towards the sound. They made it to the start of the museum’s gallery and came across plants growing around the edges of the room. Several people were hanging upside down, tied at the ankles by rope-like vines. A playful giggle was heard.

A woman entered the room, dressed in black and red from head to toe, carrying a burlap sack. The jingle of coins and jewels could be heard from the bag. Following her was a woman with green skin and red hair riding on a giant flower. She looked their way.

“Harley, looks like we’re entertaining the prince of Gotham.” The green woman said.

“Oh, wonderful! Ivy, I bet he’s gots loads!” Harley said, knocking a jewel encrusted vase into her sack. Dick looked nervously at Artemis and took a protective step in front of her. He pressed the bat-signal in his pocket, Bruce would see it and hopefully show up soon. He just had to do damage control until the dark knight showed up.

Artemis could tell that things would go south quickly is she didn’t drag this out. She looked around for some solution to off put the impending minor doom. Her hand closed around some bejeweled statue which she then tossed at the woman with the bag. It hit her dead on and Harley let out a string of curses. Artemis grabbed the pretty boy in front of her and took off into the gallery.

Poison Ivy and Harley chased after them in a rage. They were very lucky the building was as massive as it was, though it wasn’t endless. She saw a future where they were caught because they had nowhere to run. Artemis turned to tell Dick-

“We have to hide.” Only to find he’d beaten her to the punch. It was his turn to grab her as he pulled her into a supply closet. In the dark, with Dick’s hand over her mouth, they listened as the villains made their way past the closet.

“That was really stupid of you.” Dick said once he was sure the two wouldn’t be heard. He couldn’t figure out why she had done that. Running made sense, but aggravating villains like that did not. It seemed to him like she wasn’t thinking at all. Artemis was, understandably, fuming at the comment. She had just saved the both of them a minor doom filled with bodily pain (and possible exposure of her secret identity). Not that he could know that. She opened her mouth to verbally rip him a new one, when something caught the attention of her doom powers.

“do you, uh… smell that?” smell seemed like a good excuse for the doom of plants. She quickly summoned her phone and the note. She turned the screen on too look around the dark closet.

“What smell?” Dick asked following the dim light’s path. It landed on a container labeled ‘weed killer’.

“what’s this doing here? I didn’t see anything resembling a lawn outside…” she muttered looking at it more closely.

“They must have it because Ivy is a pretty well-known villain. Artemis! This is great!” He stage whispered before engulfing her into a hug. He could feel the heat coming off her face at the contact, so he let go. “Her plants grow at an accelerated rate, which means if we poison them they’ll die faster than normal too!” He explained excitedly, knocking the awkwardness of the hug off. This was going to make Batman’s job a he’ll of a lot easier too.

“We had better hurry to the roots then, before they come back this way.” She hefted the container and motioned him to the door. He tried to open it, but it was stuck. “Plants probably grew over it.” She supplied. So, he gave more of an effort to pry it open, tearing plants from the surface and itself. An inhuman screech of a dying plant could be heard from the top floor of the building, but the two paid it little heed as they bolted to the front of the museum.

The place had been completely over run with plant life. It was thick over every surface and person that had been unable to get away from it. Thickest of all was the door, there was no way they were going to use it as an exit, what with five or possibly more feet of thick stocky vines blocking the way. Dick swore softly in frustration.

“Sharp. We need something sharp.” Artemis said almost frantic.

“What?” Dick asked. There was no way they could cut through all those vines with anything short of a laser. She nearly ignored him in favor of wildly looking around for something to slash with. She had her own weapons, but didn’t much fancy summoning a spear, two swords, and a colorful variety of explosives from seemingly thin air.

“We just need to get this stuff into the plants system. You’re a guy, don’t you carry a pocket knife, or keys, or I dunno something?” She pleaded. She had half a mind to just start biting and clawing at the greenery as bright red buds with doom written all over them started to form. “Those are probably some kind of poisonous, just my luck.” Dick mentally echoed her sentiments.

“Right, yeah I have a knife.” He retrieved a utility knife from his pockets, opened it to a nearly wicked looking serrated blade, and began to make controlled slashes on the vines below their feet. All the while red buds were beginning to mature and let out a sickly-sweet scent. Artemis struggled to open the cap to the weed killer as her senses numbed and she began to feel woozy. She glanced down the hall to see the forms of the other two women fast approaching on a large red flower. Thinking fast, she kicked Dick away from his slashing and dumped the killer into leaking green gashes before her legs gave out from under her.

 The world was filling quickly with red flowers and wilting vines. She heard someone scream in horror, Ivy probably, her mind supplied. She looked over at Dick who, while didn’t look awesome, looked better than her. He was the last thing in her sight before passing out.

Dick turned as he heard her slump over unconscious. He had built up a tolerance to most poisons and toxins, but she obviously hadn’t, and it’s possible effects on her worried him. He couldn’t tell just what kind of effects the pollen had been for at the moment. Bruce could once he got here, it would clear from the air soon with how quickly it was dissipating.

He crawled over to hold her and check for a pulse. His movements were slugging and he worried whether or not his fingers could even feel right now. Most of the plants had wilted by now, leaving more unconscious people laying around. He looked over to Harley and Ivy, who were picking themselves up off the floor where their dying ride had dumped them. Harley chucked her gas mask at him and made to stomp over and give him a piece of her mind and fist. Ivy stopped her, bag of goods in her possession now. They had a short exchange, that Docks fuzzed up mind couldn’t make out, before running towards him again. He hunched over Artemis protectively, but the two ran past him. Ah, they were headed for the door to make a get away.

But at the door stood the intimidating silhouette of the Batman, who made quick work of the two before making his way over to Dick.

“What happened?” His rough voice ground out. Dick regained feeling in his fingers and sighed in relief at the pulse under them.

“Robbery, we ran and they chased, so we hid. Found some weed killer and used it on the plants. But before that, during that, red flowers, some kind of paralysis pollen I think.” It felt like someone had stuffed his head full of cotton. “She passed out after dumping the weed stuff, so it’s something I have a tolerance to.” He finished handing the girl in his arms to his mentor.

“Better safe than sorry.” Bruce slung her over his shoulder and helped his son up. “We’ll take a sample of her blood while it’s still in her system and make a counter serum just in case. There’s a syringe in the bat mobile, if you can’t do it Tim probably can.” Dick leaned into Batman as they made towards the exit.

“I should be fine in a few minutes. It’s already starting to wear off. But B, we shouldn’t take her to the hospital there’s-“

“Someone looking for her, I recall.” Batman finished for him. “Tim’s already called for the police and an ambulance, She’s going to the manor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you can start asking questions now.  
> Also, anyone know how to fix the notes thing? It keeps showing the first chapter's notes under the second chapter's.

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be a long one, I'm halfway through the second chapter but I have over 14 planned and no end in sight.  
> So this takes place before the justice league formed, after Superman's first long disappearance, after teen titans (maybe), and after Dick gets back from Bludhaven. I'm ignoring Dicks inclination to red-heads for my own personal gain.  
> Also the text would have color if I knew how, but I'm a little hopeless at coding rn and need detailed step by step instructions, lest I get my dick caught in a ceiling fan.  
> Remember to leave kudos so I know you liked it, and comments are even better. (Studies say kudo and comments have a conversion rate of one 'kudo' per letter and exclamation point!)


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